In the Zone

When I was young, I wanted to be the lead announcer for Monday Night Football. Most kids dream of playing in the big game, winning the Super Bowl or hitting a grand slam in the World Series.  Not me.  I knew I didn't have the athletic talent to do those things.  I figured, if I can't win the big game, why not announce it. So, as a young kid, even as I started down the path to print journalism, I envisioned a day where I would sit in the booth and announce Monday Night Football.  To me, that was the greatest gig on television.  You got paid to talk about a football game. Alas, this dream never came to pass.  I entered the world of journalism.  As I sat in a broadcasting class one day, I watched a video about the production of Monday Night Football.  The analyst spoke on camera.  I'll never forget his words.  "This is a not a vocation, it's a life choice.  For six months a year, I am on the road six days a week for Monday N...

Many years ago, when I was in college, I led several ministry teams for our Baptist Student Union. In addition to our creative ministry teams (which featured drama, music, interpretative movement, etc.), we also routinely sent out teams of students to lead lock-ins, revivals and disciple now weekends.  As the outreach coordinator, I was ultimately responsible for the quality of the teams, the people serving on them and the job that was done. In one particular instance, we failed miserably.  Our team was set to lead a lock-in.  We started off with poor directions to the church.  We got lost, which made us late for our appointment.  When we arrived, we were ill prepared for the event and it took us time to get organized.  We also had an incident with one of our team members and a girl in the youth group. It was not our finest hour. On Monday, following the event, I got called into my campus minister's office.  He was upset, but he never yelled....

I'm a big proponent of seat belts. As a former reporter, I heard many stories from police and fellow reporters of traffic fatalities that could have been prevented by simply wearing the strap.  I've seen gruesome pictures of the results of not wearing a seat belt.  To me, the inconvenience of wearing one far outweighs the consequences of not wearing one. However, make no mistake about it.  In a fatal traffic accident, people do not suffer injury from a lack of a seat belt.  They suffer injury from blunt force trauma.  If a human body impacts a solid object hard enough, it can be overwhelmed and shut down. A seat belt, then, is simply a choice.  It can save your life, but it won't kill you.  The same can be said about Jesus and sin.  We make the mistake of believing people experience eternal death because they reject the Gospel.  Scripture is clear:  people experience eternal death because they sin.  Romans 3:23 states "...

Last night was kind of scary. As I took out the garbage in the midst of an ice and freezing rain storm, I heard cracking overhead.  Looking up, I saw a tree limb swaying, then falling fast toward the ground.  I stepped back into the garage until I heard the branch slam the ice below.  Then, cautiously, I moved in to investigate. The tree branch literally snapped in two.  Healthy wood just couldn't take the weight of ice on the branches and limbs.  When the weight become to great, it snapped in half and plummeted to the ground.  It wasn't the only branch to do that.  Morning's light revealed an even bigger tree branch laying in the backyard.  Thankfully, none of the cars were hit, the house was spared and no one was hurt. But, as I think about it, I notice some spiritual implications too.  When the wood was overpowered by the ice, it cracked and fell.  Often, we get overwhelmed by the pressures of work, family, friends and yes, ...